Take a second, go back and think about your first day in school, work or any new thing you started with. Do you remember that giddy feeling you had before each of those new events. Whether veteran or rookie, we all are graced by those initial moments of nervousness, those never ending minutes when we are standing on the door thinking about what lies ahead. Waiting to start a new chapter.

There are so many parallel conversations that run in our mind in times like these, a part of us is scared to leave the familiar comfort zone, we are worried about our first impression, about whether people will be friendly & welcoming and what not. We keep asking ourselves, Will people like me? Or Will I end up making a fool of myself? and on and on the series goes.

Now imagine how this new chapter would feel if you receive a warm welcome. If you feel welcomed the time you walk in. Will this not dissipate all the nervousness around you?

When I was thinking about our Induction Process I realized that unknowingly we start inducting people the time they walk in. We make it a point to give them a warm welcome from the instant they are here, and that is not part of any rule book we follow ( We don’t believe in rule books!). That just happens.

So as people enter ColoredCow and that can be even before it is decided that they would join us, they are introduced to everyone and someone makes it a point to show them the place. In a discussion with the team, we realized that this helped almost everyone in getting past the hurdle of “the new place, new thing” roadblock when they joined.

When we asked each other, ‘What was the first thing that struck a chord with you when you came to ColoredCow?’  The different answers somehow came out with the same thought, “The first visit was so impactful that we just wanted to say”.

That is maybe what Vivian Zayas (a psychologist at Cornell University) conveyed through his research. He says that, “The snap judgments or first impressions one create tend to be far more accurate and lasting”.

So the first step of induction process in ColoredCow starts by feeling welcomed. Every addition we make to our team is a thoughtful step and so we are genuinely glad to welcome people. We understand that if one is given favorable environment they are able to give their best.

Being there we all understand how starting new felt and how those warm smiles changed things for us. And hence unconsciously the tradition goes on.